FIG. 21 represents an exemplary canister type vacuum cleaner including an extension tube 102 detachably attached to a suction nozzle 101 in a front distal end thereof and further coupled to a handle 103 and a hose 104 which extends from the handle 103 is connected with a main body 106 via a joint 105. Such an electric vacuum cleaner is capable of efficiently cleaning the floor with the wide surfaced floor nozzle 101, however, cleaning a surface that is smaller than the floor nozzle 101, e.g., when cleaning the stairs, creates a problem of using the floor nozzle 101. In general, such surfaces are cleaned with crevice nozzles and brush nozzles that are equipped with the electric vacuum cleaner as supplements to the floor nozzle 101 by removing the extension tube 102 from the handle 103 and engaging the supplement nozzle with the handle 103.
However, the exchange of the suction heads is a great inconvenience to a user. Furthermore, due to rollers provided on the floor nozzle 101 for facilitating transportability thereof and disengaged extension tube 102 attached thereto, the disengaged extension tube 102 and the floor nozzle 101 are prevented from being stationary against a wall, thus a problem of placement thereof rises while being disengaged. A floor nozzle 101 that can easily be adaptively exchanged with a compatt nozzle in a narrow vacuuming space can greatly enhance the vacuuming process. Such effort is realized in the prior art, as illustrated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-314358.
Special features of such an electric vacuum cleaner are in a suction nozzle thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 22, a front distal end of an extension tube 213 is connected with a hollow brush nozzle 250 via a ball join 240 that enables a rotation in a vertical direction and a direction of rotation, wherein the brush nozzle 250 is detachably installed with an opening 211a that is communicated with a suction inlet of the floor nozzle 210. While the brush nozzle 250 is engaged with the floor nozzle 210 that is attached to the distal end of the extension tube 213, an air passage is formed through the hollow brush nozzle 250 and the floor nozzle 210, thereby enabling cleaning of the floor with the floor nozzle 210. The brush nozzle 250 can be disengaged from the floor nozzle 210 by stepping on a release 320. Such a configuration enables a user to manipulate settings of the brush nozzle 250 with the floor nozzle 210 without having to bend down, facilitating converting from cleaning the floor to cleaning the steps and narrow cleaning surfaces.
However, a height of the floor nozzle 210 of the conventional vacuum cleaner described above is high enough to be limited for usage thereof in a cleaning surface that has a low height clearance, consequently restricting the cleaning surfaces to be cleaned by the floor nozzle 210.
Furthermore, there is a great difficulty to reorient the floor nozzle 210 to a desired direction by rotating the extension tube 213, since the handle to operate the floor nozzle 210 is connected with the extension tube 213 which is connected at an incline with the ball joint 240 that is vertically placed on the floor nozzle 210, consequently hindering an efficient cleaning using the floor nozzle 210.
Moreover, since the brush nozzle 250 is connected with the extension tube 213 via the ball joint 240 that is vertically rotatable and also rotatable in the direction of rotation, when the brush nozzle 250 is disengaged from the floor nozzle 210 for cleaning, an instability of an angle at which the brush nozzles 250 rests creates a difficulty in cleaning.